Global travel musings with an emphasis on South America from the perspective of a professional freelance writer.

Monday, August 13, 2012

No Record Heat for Cuenca

Being from the Midwest, the weather is a natural topic of conversation for me. And so I've been watching the shift in conversations about weather here in Cuenca with some interest.

At first, people were coming to Cuenca for the warm, temperate weather. You'd go to an expat event and people would tell you about how they were escaping the horrible snows of Manitoba once and for all. They'd brag about never having to freeze their way through a Minnesota winter again, or tell cheery tales of getting away from Vermont once and for all. Sunny days were here and that was just the way they liked it.

Now people are coming to Cuenca because it's cold. Not ice cold, obviously, or the snow birds wouldn't have migrated here. But not 114 degrees in the shade, either.

With the record temperatures all over the US, expats are now checking to make sure Cuenca is going to be cold enough for them. People talk about how happy they are to be in Cuenca where you don't need to stand in your freezer to survive. They're gleeful at the idea of not needing air conditioning. And they really hope that things stay chilly here for the foreseeable future.